eBook

Huike, the Second Patriarch, said to Bodhidharma, “My mind is not yet at rest. Master, I implore you, set my mind to rest.” The master replied, “Bring your mind here and I’ll set it to rest for you.”Huike said, “I’ve searched for my mind, but am unable to find it.”“There,” said the master, “I’ve set your mind to rest.”

The senior monk Huiming pursued Huineng, the Sixth Patriarch, to Dayu Peak. Huineng, seeing him come, put the robe and bowl on a rock and said, “This robe represents faith. How can it be taken by force? You may have it.”Huiming tried to pick it up, but, like a mountain, it couldn’t be moved. Shaken and frightened, Huiming said, “I came in search of the Dharma, not for the sake of the robe. Lay brother, please instruct me.”Huineng said, “Think not of good, think not of evil. At this very moment, what is your original face before your father and mother were born?”At that moment Huiming was deeply enlightened, and his entire body flowed with sweat. With tears in his eyes, he bowed and asked, “Is there any meaning still more profound than the hidden meaning and words you have just imparted to me?”“There’s nothing hidden about what I have revealed,” replied Huineng. “If you turn your own light inward and illuminate your original face, what is hidden is within yourself.”Huiming said, “Although I practiced with the assembly under Hongren, I had yet to realize my original face. Now that you have shown the way in, I’m like one who has tasted water and knows for himself whether it’s cold or warm. You, lay brother, are now my teacher.”Huineng replied, “If that’s how it is with you, then you and I are equally the disciples of Hongren. Take good care of yourself!”

Case 3: 五祖他奴 Wuzu’s “Someone’s Servants”

東山演禪師示衆曰、釋迦彌勒、猶是渠奴、且道、渠是阿誰。

Wuzu Fayan of Mount Dong said to the assembly, “Even Śākyamuni and Maitreya are merely someone’s servants. Tell me, who is it?”

Doushuai Congyue devised three barriers to test his students:Pulling weeds and exploring the mystery are solely for the purpose of seeing your true nature. So, right now, where is your true nature?If you realize your true nature, you escape birth-and-death. So as the light in your eyes dims, how do you escape?When you escape birth-and-death, you know where you go. So as your four elements separate, where do you go?

Lingyun Zhiqin of Fuzhou was enlightened upon seeing the blossoms of a peach tree. In a verse he said:For thirty years I sought a sword-master.How many times have leaves fallen and new buds appeared?But ever since seeing the peach blossoms,From then till now I have never doubted again!Later he related this verse to his master, Guishan Lingyou. Guishan said, “Those who enlighten through circumstances never regress. Take good care of yourself!”When Xuansha Shibei heard about this, he said, “Lingyun may well have been right, but I’ll guarantee that his understanding was incomplete.”Wuzu Fayan said, “You talk of complete and incomplete? Thirty more years of training!”Later, during a lecture, a monk asked Dachuan Puji about the verse. Dachuan said, “A thief has no peace of mind.”

A monk once asked Zhaozhou Congshen, “What is the meaning of Bodhi- dharma’s coming from the West?”Zhaozhou answered, “The juniper tree in front of the garden.” The monk replied, “Master, don’t teach me using external objects.” Zhaozhou said, “I’m not teaching you using external objects.”The monk asked, “What is the meaning of Bodhidharma’s coming from the West?”Zhaozhou answered, “The juniper tree in front of the garden.”Afterward Fayan Wenyi asked Jue Tiezui, “I heard that your teacher, Zhaozhou, spoke of a juniper tree. Is this true?”Jue Tiezui replied, “My late teacher never said such a thing—don’t slander him!”Fayan commented, “A true lion’s cub gives a good lion’s roar!”

Huanglong Huinan asked Longqing Qingxian, “Everyone has their own native place. What is your native place?”Longqing answered, “Early this morning I had some rice gruel, and now I feel hungry again.”“How does my hand resemble a buddha’s hand?” Huanglong asked. “Playing a lute in the moonlight,” Longqing answered.“How does my leg resemble a donkey’s leg?” he asked.Longqing answered, “A snowy egret stands in the snow, but their colors are not the same.”Huanglong always presented students with these three statements, but no one could come up with a satisfactory response. Monks everywhere called them the Three Barriers of Huanglong. Even with the few who gave answers, the master would neither agree nor disagree but only sit there in formal posture with eyes closed. No one could fathom his intent. When the layman Fan Yanzhi asked the reason for this, Huanglong replied, “Those who have passed through the gate shake their sleeves and go straight on their way. What do they care if there’s a gatekeeper? Those who seek the gatekeeper’s permission have yet to pass through.”